At Least Heat Miser Would Be Proud
Inferno—it’s the Italian word for Hell. Dante Alighieri knew it, and he warped the first part of his Divine Comedy around the concept and all its nasty little nooks and crannies.
But four different years inspired movies with the same title: first a 1924 silent film; then a 1935 loose interpretation remembered for its depiction of hell rendered by director Harry Lachman, an established post-impressionist painter; a 1967 television film about another Dante (Gabriel Rossetti) and his relationship with Elizabeth Siddal; finally a modern update in 2007 complete with paper puppets. Inferno saw its days as a Coney Island ride, an album by Transmetal, and a song by Iced Earth. Now the fiery hell Dante so vividly unraveled is being cemented as a next-gen video game by developer Visceral Games. Dante’s probably sick and tired of rolling over in his grave, so we might as well bring on the heat!
A demo of the re-imagined classic will ignite the PlayStation Network come December 10—unfortunately, Xbox goers won’t get a stab at the game until the 24th, two weeks later. Demo players will have access to the full first level, in which Dante passes through the Gates of Hell after the soul of his deceased lover. With the scythe of Death at his side, Dante can judge and damn the monstrosities and sufferers he encounters in the depths of hell.
“The world of Alighieri’s Dante’s Inferno is such a rich, detailed, and often alarming universe, that all of us at Visceral Games put our hearts, and dare I say souls, into creating something truly intense and exciting,” says producer Jonathan Knight. “We hope gamers enjoy this tease of hell, and come away from the experience lusting for more when the game comes out on February 9.”.
Are you for or against a video game edition of Dante’s Inferno? What’s next, Macbeth? Or do you think the fresh attention to Dante’s work could actually work in a positive way?
